US considers dumping Vietnam-era SAMs by sending them to Kiev

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Jan 22:34

A Politico report says that the HAWK anti-air defense system needs to be first updated after lying in storage since the 1990s.

Raytheon MIM-23A HAWK anti-air defense system.

A Politico report revealed on Thursday that Washington is considering sending Kiev surface-to-air missiles that have been out of service by the US since the 1990s.

According to the report, the US wants to send Ukraine HAWK air-defense missiles, which have been stocked in storage for years.

The missiles, however, need to be first updated and then matched with launching systems from Spain for them to be usable by Kiev, the media outlet added.

While the US has abandoned the use of the HAWK systems, they are still used in Europe, noted the news site.

Within the same context, Reuters published a report on Thursday stating the US will send Ukraine around 50 Bradley fighting vehicles in the next batch of weapons that is expected to be revealed on Friday.

This report comes after the White House earlier said it would send to Ukraine its most sophisticated air defense weapon, the Patriot missile battery, to help defend against Russian drones and missiles.

On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden confirmed that the White House was considering the 28-tonne Bradley vehicle, which can accommodate up to nine soldiers and is equipped with heavy armor and various guns.

As the US has thousands of Bradleys in stock, sending some to Kiev would not be a problem in terms of domestic inventory.

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